Revolving steam connection.



NITE STATES FRANK MURGATROYD, OF CLEVELAND, OI-IIO.

REVOLVING STEAM CONNECTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,900, datedSeptember 9, 1902.

Application filed February 7. 1902. $erial No. 92,999. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK MURGATROYD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in RevolvingSteam-Connections, of which the following is a specification.

The invention described herein relates to cranes and other revolublemachines into and out of the revolving portions of which it is necessaryto convey steam or other gases or fluids.

It has been found in practice that in revolving machines which aresubjected to sudden stresses or jars, such as hoisting-machines andespecially cranes used in forges, the steam or other fluidconnectionsare in danger of being broken. Therefore the object of theconveying said gases or fluids to and from such machines which willpermit of some variations in the relative positions of the stationaryand revolving parts, due to settling or jars or other causes, Withoutstraining said parts excessively and which will be simple and durable inconstruction and have all its parts which may occasionally needattention easily accessible.

Minor objects will become apparent from the description.

To these ends my invention consists in the novel features andcombinations hereinafter described and claimed, an embodiment thereof asapplied to a revoluble crane being illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figurel is a sectional elevation showing live andexhaust steam connections. Fig. II is a section taken on line II II, andFig. III is a section on line III III of Fig. I.

The reference-letter a indicates the mast of a crane provided with ajournal block or trunnion b, projecting from its, end and rigidlysecured thereto. A stationary bearingblock 0, fastened to some suitablepart of a building or other structure made and provided therefor, isfitted to said journal and, to-

gether with a suitable base-bearing, (not shown,) serves to hold saidcrane in an upright position, while permitting it to revolve upon anaxis passing through the centers of both of said bearings. Thejournal-block I) is hollow throughout its length, and its upper end iscounterbored concentric with its axis to receive the lower end of a pipeat and is also counter-bored and provided with a gland to form astuffing-box e for said pipe,which may be of the usual form, as plainlyshown in Fig. I. The upper end of the pipe (1' is screwthreadedorotherwise firmly and tightly jointed toa stationaryTf, having anoutlet branch g for the exhaust-steam. The said member f issupportedextraneously to the movable portions of the machineas, for example, by abracket projecting from the bearing-block c, as shown.

Jointed and securely attached by bolts or otherwise concentrically tothe lower end of the journalblock b is another hollow T- shaped castingh, the lateral branch of which is connected with the exhaust-pipe t'.Thus, it will readily be understood, a passage for exhaust-steam isprovided from the pipe t' through the T h and the journal-block b, whichrevolves with the crane, into and through the pipe at and the T1,whichlatter are held stationary upon the extraneous structure. Thestuffing-box e prevents the escape of exhaust-steam at the joint betweenthe 'fixed and movable parts, and the pipe (1 should have some range oflongitudinal movement in the counterbore of the journal-block, so as topermit of variations in the relative positions of the said fixed andmovable parts, which may occur .through settling, jars, &c.

I will now proceed to describe the means for conducting live steam, orother fluid, into the revolving part of the machine. A tubej of asmaller diameter than the exhaust-passage is inserted through the axialbore of the journal-block b and the casting 7i and is supportedandattached to the movable structure a in any suitable way, as by a bracketis and connecting-pipe Z. A stuffing-box and gland m of the ordinaryconstruction is provided in the lower end of the casting h to preventexhauststeam escaping around the tube j. Means, such as a set-screw n,in the casting h, engaging a longitudinal slot in .a fixed collar 0 onthe tube j below the exhaust-entrance to said casting, are employed toprevent the tube j turning relatively to the movable parts of themachine, and thereby unscrewing the joint between the pipes j and Z; butwhile I prefer this construction it is obvious to anyone skilled in theart that other well-known means may be substituted in place of saidset-screw and collar to prevent the disjointing of pipesj and Z. Uponthe upper end of the tube j is formed a flaring socket p, the outside ofwhich is fitted to slide snugly into the upper axial bore of the Tf andrest normally somewhat above the exhaust-outlet g. The inlet-pipe q,which is preferably of the same diameter as the tube j, has acylindrical collar 1' formed upon its lower end, turned to a closesliding fit in the socket p, and a gland t is fitted between the pipe (1and the said bore of the T f, thus forming in the upper end of said T astuffing-box s, which may be filled with suitable packing to prevent theescape of both the live steam from the joint between pipes q andj andexhauststeam from the Tf.

It will'now be seen that the stationary pipe (1 and the revoluble pipesjand Z form acouductor for steam or other fluid entering the machine andthat such fluid is prevented from escaping by the stuffing-box s, andthe exhaust or outgoing fiuid is held from leakage around the tubej bythe stuffing-boxes s and m, while at the same time the socketp is freeto revolve between the collar 1" and the casting f. The journal-block bmay also turn about the pipe d. It will also be seen that should thefixed and movable parts of the machine change somewhat their relativepositions by reason of settling, jars, or other causes the collar 0" mayslide somewhat upward or downward in the socket p without producing anyundue strain upon the parts or leakage, and likewise the pipe d mayslide upward or downward in the counter-bore of the journal-block b.

It is obvious that the fluid may enter through what we have called theexhaustpassages and be discharged through the tube j, &c., if for anyreason such a circulation should be desired.

Other modifications maybe made in the details and application of thedevice provided the principles of construction set forth respectively inthe following claims" are employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention- 1. In a fluid supplying and discharging device for revolublemachines, the combination with a hollow trunnion and a suitable bearingtherefor, of a fixed discharge-pipe having a lateral outlet and insertedthrough a stuifing-box into the bore of said trunnion, a revolublesupply-tube passing axially through said discharge-pipe and trunnion andprovided with a stuffing-box at the revoluble end of thedischarge-passage, a stationary supply-tube communicating with the outerend of said revoluble tube, and a fluid-tight joint between saidsupply-tubes adapted to permit of both the revolution and a limitedrelative longitudinal movement of said revoluble tube, substantially asset forth.

2. In a fluid supplying and discharging device for revoluble machines,the combination with a hollow trunnion and a suitable bearing therefor,of a fixed discharge-pipe having a lateral outlet and inserted through astuffing-box into the bore of said trunnion, a revoluble supply-tubepassing axially through said discharge-pipe and trunnion provided with astuffing-box at the revoluble end of the discharge-passage and having asocket formed upon its outer end, a stationary supply-tube having acylindrical collar upon its inner end fitted to slide into said socket,and an open-ended stuffing-box fitted to receive said socket and adaptedto prevent the escape of both the incomingand outgoing fluid,substantially as set forth.

3. In a fluid supplying and discharging device for revoluble machines,the combination with a hollow trunnion and a suitable hearing therefor,of a discharge-pipe inserted through a stuffing-box into the bore ofsaid trunnion and having a fixed T upon its outer end, a lateraldischarge-outlet and a stuffingbox for the supply-tube upon the innerend of said trunnion, a supply-tube carried by the revoluble portion ofthe machine passing axially through said inner stuffing-box, the bore ofthe trunnion and the discharge-pipe and terminating in a socket fittedto said fixed T beyond the lateral outlet thereof, a stationarysupply-tube having a cylindrical collar upon its inner end fitted toslide into said socket, and a gland upon saidstationary supply-tubeadapted to hold suitable packing in the outer end of said fixed Tagainst the joints formed by said collar and socket, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses, at Cleveland, Ohio, February 5, 1902.

FRANK MURGATROYD.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. SULLIVAN, L. G. HOPPER.

